


Ghost Story

by DrunkenWhaler



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Ghosts, a lot of running, slight body horror for later chapters, suspense and horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-05 06:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5365412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrunkenWhaler/pseuds/DrunkenWhaler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a ghosts haunts a remote village, it doesn't take long for the Doctor and Rose to notice. Something is after them and they have to face a ghostly horror. Can they find out the secret behind the frightful events?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ghosts and Hallways

**Author's Note:**

> My first DW fanfiction. English isn't my first language but I hope I did a decent job there. Later there will be mild triggering contents and warning in the corresponding chapters. And originally I intended to post this on halloween but well. Hope you enjoy! Also unbeta'd and all errors are mine.

**Prologue**

„Excuse me?“. The crowd of cheerful women stopped, peering down the little alley. They were crowded around another lady, sporting a cheeky tiara in her hair. A birthday party about to unfold. She nodded and strolled closer, eyeing the other young woman with a broad smile. “Sure thing, darling. How can we help you?”. Said girl grimaced and pointed at a big gate. A lit panel was next to the artistic wrought iron door, about twenty buttons huddled together. Not unusual for the hotels around the hill. “’M sorry! I am trying to find the nightcall but I just...”, she lifted her hands helplessly, glaring at the buttons, who just looked back at her indifferently. “I-I am not that good with german, sorry. I don’t know which one to push.” The birthday lady nodded with understanding, stepping next to the blonde and eyed the panel. “Let’s see, darling…”. She scanned the tiny inscriptions above each button, a minute came and went and then she triumphantly cried out. “Ah ha!”. 

Huddled at the bottom, there it was. “It is that one, darling. I admit, I saw better organized ones myself. But…”. A giggle escaped the woman and she glanced at her cohort. “A young thing like you should be out. Having fun! It is Saturday night, after all.” Collective nods and the young woman looked down, her blonde hair hiding her face for a moment. She shook her head and hid her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Yeah but no, thanks. I am waiting for someone.” The birthday lady opened her mouth in understanding, causing the blonde to blush fiercely. “Oi, ‘s not like that!”. But the crowd chuckled in good will and nodded. “Alright”, she spoke up with a smile. “Have fun then.” The blonde nodded. “Thanks for your help. And have fun alright?”. They nodded and were just about to turn away when the birthday lady gasped and clasped a hand in front of her mouth. Then screamed. The young blonde had smiled and strolled right through the iron gate, to vanish out of sight. 

 

**Chapter 1:**

“No, no, no!”. Sparks were flying out of the console and the TARDIS lurched violently. The Doctor, still cursing, alternating between all kind of exotic languages he had come across, held on the jumpseat, knuckles white as the ship bucked violently. “No!”. He jumped forward, his converse squeaking and frantically started pushing down buttons and pulling levers. Oh, he was so thick! He should have seen it right away. He felt it. Felt it right away. Something…off. Irking him in a way he had felt before. Not that strong. And that might be the cause why their adventure went down terribly wrong. “Come on!”, he pleaded, heaving his leg up to push a lever at the far side of the circular console and started adjusting the temporal stabilizer. Something had thrown, forced the TARDIS out and into the vortex. And nothing just threw out the TARDIS. Whatever it was, it must be powerful. Quite powerful.  
A violent buck made the doctor fly on his rear, panting hard but sighing in relief as her flight stabilized and an apologetic song filled his head. He immediately scrambled up to his feet, stroking the console soothingly. “Nothing to be sorry for, old girl. It wasn’t your fault.” A dozen possible theories and species flew around the Doctor’s head. But all to be pushed aside by the look of utter fear on Rose’s face. The Doctor shook his head and immediately set to work. At least the TARDIS hadn’t been hurt by the rather violent kick into the Vortex. A little ray of good news in this big ball of bad news. Rose was on her own, with whatever had pushed the doctor inside the TARDIS. His hearts felt light with lingering horror. Rose…oh Rose. She had faced so much so utterly bravely. Looked into the Heart of the TARDIS, opposed Daleks and Slitheene and even a lupine haemovariform. His Rose. Brave and quick and now facing it all alone. A frown built itself on his face and he flicked a row of little levers. He looked up, at the moving time rotor. “Come on, let’s save her.” Her song shifted, a mental nod, and the time rotor started pumping as the Doctor pulled the lever, bringing them back.

***  
As often, their adventure had started rather innocently. Well, as innocent as an abandoned hospital in the middle of the Black Forest went. The TARDIS had picked up “Something odd”, as the Doctor had phrased it. And moments later they stepped onto a patch of grass behind a row of buildings. After a little search, involving an apparatus, which Rose only remembered as “Timey Whimey Detector”, they found a cosy looking inn. Soon they got into conversation with the local folk, reclusive but hearty and then they heard about the may-be-reason of the signal the TARDIS got. At the edge of the village, already pretty far into the forest, an abandoned hospital sat, rotting away with time and the element’s help. And recently, sightings of a ghostly entity got the village in a state of healthy fear. “You see, we aren’t backwards folk. A village like this can only survive with attracting hiking tourism and for that, you always need to know what’s new and so on. But when dozens of people come screaming, scratches all over them, there is something very, very off.” The police had been helpless, stating the hospital as vacant as ever. “And now we are kind of on our own.” 

All that was already more encouraging than the Doctor and Rose needed. The very same evening they set off to find said hospital. The Doctor had lectured Rose about various plants and their healthy properties with an almost manic gleam in his brown eyes as they walked down a broad driveway, where they also parked the TARDIS in case they needed more equipment. Their cheerful bantering stopped as soon as the building came into sight. “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!”, the Doctor exclaimed with a wink and marched on, his brown coat billowing behind him. Thankfully, since it meant he couldn’t see the slight blush on Rose’s cheeks. But that soon faded. A shiver ran down her spine at the broken windows, the overgrowth claiming the building and very dark hallways spreading behind the doors. A short whirr of the Sonic got them in and they were greeted with a feeling of despair and loneliness.  
“That’s properly creepy.”, Rose murmured, looking around and trying not to stumble. It seemed when the Hospital closed its gates, everyone just let everything in place and left. Now random bits of furniture were lying around the hallways, chairs, little shelves and even old and dusty wheelchairs. The Doctor set the Sonic to its flashlight setting and in his other hand, held the device which blinked from various lightbulbs. “The closer we get to something, the fast they blink.”, he murmured, his eyes darting from his environment to the device. “But Doctor, ‘s blinking already”. “Then we must be already pretty close.”  
Little did they know there were in fact very close. Something back the hallway creaked and made Rose squeal in surprise. “What was that?”, she whispered and peered into the darkness. But the Doctor kept silent and pointed the device in that direction, quietly moving towards the source of the mysterious creak. They were silent for several minutes until Rose murmured anew. “Doctor, I think I saw something down there.” She pointed at a junction where another hallway was leading down into darkness. The Doctor looked up and above them hung a sign. ‘surgery’ it read. The Doctor nodded and together they crept closer. Just as an opened door in front of them slammed shut with an unbelievably loud bang. Rose screamed in surprise and even the Doctor jumped back. “Hello?”, he asked into the darkness. “If anyone is there, I am the Doctor and this is Rose. We are here to help!”. But only silence answered. Rose stepped forward, nodding. “Yeah we aren’t here to harm you.” But again nothing answered and they crept forward more. But something had changed. Like the static in the air right before a thunderstorm. The silence before the storm. “God, this is creepy.”, Rose muttered but went on. And soon they reached the crossing and again a hallway filled with debris greeted them. Rose couldn’t help but wonder how many died in these walls before it had shut down. An unsettling thought. Maybe right here doctors and nurses had rushed patients into surgery.

A tiny bleeping pushed Rose out of her train of thoughts and the Doctor stopped, peering at his device. A mauve bulb had started blinking merrily together with a tiny bleeping sound. The Doctor looked up, half disappointed to not see something in front of him. “It should be…”. A dry thud and only his superior reflexes saved the Doctor from the piece of concrete falling right on his head. A second later, hands grasped his arm and Rose pushed him back. “Watch out!”. They jumped to the side and Rose swore that something very dark and very menacing scurried past them. She half expected another brick or a door slamming but…nothing. Her heart was racing and she swallowed hard, mouth dry. She looked around, scanning the hallway. Empty. The Doctor meanwhile, pointed the Sonic at the ceiling. Not a single crack in the grey concrete. He frowned. “Rose, I think we should..”. He was cut off as he got pushed violently. The Sonic fell out of his hands, skidding across the dirty floor and he landed with a painful thud. But a piercing scream brought him out of his daze. Rose screamed, stumbling backwards as tendrils of darkness were dragging her back. 

“Rose!”, the Doctor yelled and blindly reached for the Sonic. But someone, something was dragging Rose into blackness and her muffled cries were high pitched in horror. She fought back, kicking and flailing but then she…just vanished. “ROSE!”, the Doctor yelled and gazed in horror at the empty spot where she just had stood. “No, no, no!”, he gasped, finally finding the Sonic and promptly scanning the empty spot. A cool horror had gripped both his hearts and he tried to summon all his professionalism. “Yes!”, he breathed and turned heel to run out of the hospital. His Sonic picked up a trail. Faint but leading out. He had an amplifier inside the TARDIS. Get that, couple it with the Sonic and he could find Rose. In theory at least. He jumped over rubble and debris and his converse squeaked as he took a harsh turn and finally burst out into the open. The forest was quiet and clouds were hiding the moon. A dull gloom hung over it all but it didn’t matter for the Time Lord. And like a beacon of light, the TARDIS stood at the end of the driveway, her light lifting some of the Doctors dread. He unlocked her and suddenly felt something cold against his back. A hard shove and he fell face first into the TARDIS. The doors were thrown shut and the TARDIS lurched violently as she propelled herself into the vortex. Violent shudders ran through the ship and only through effort he got to the console. Sparks flew and it had taken quite a while to stabilize her. And to turn her back to find Rose.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The door swung open and the Doctor stumbled out into the driveway. And the sun was shining down on him. “Oh no!”, he gasped and the song in his head turned apologetic. She didn’t bring him back like this intentionally. But there wasn’t turning back now they were part of events. He locked the TARDIS and pulled out his Sonic, running back to the abandoned building. And in broad daylight, it sat there, looking just rather sad. Stunning how a simple change of light could switch the mood of this hospital. He reached deep into his pockets and produced something that looked vaguely like the bulbous head of a microphone. With that he could enhance the signal and hopefully track down Rose. _If she isn’t already gone_ , a pesky voice inside his voice added but he deigned to ignore it. A bad feeling made him shudder and he stopped his mad dash before carefully entering the building anew. Whatever grabbed Rose and kicked the TARDIS into the vortex, it was powerful. Snatching a living, organic being required either huge amounts of energy or the right technology. And neither should be prominent on earth for at least a century. Definitely alien work. Scan for Alien tech! He heard her say and his hearts ached. But dwelling in the past wouldn’t solve her or his problems. Work laid ahead and time was ticking. The hallways were still deserted and not even birdsong lifted the silence which hung heavily over the place. But the Doctor marched on, stoically lifting his Sonic up and analyzing the readings he got. A low base line was all he received, even at the surgery entry.

Desperately he marched on until his Sonic bleeped. A peak of hope made his hearts flutter and he followed the trail, up a stairwell and reaching the second floor. Another bleep and it lead him to a double door. He held his breath and pushed a door half open. And then his Sonic was almost poking a face. A squeal and a juicy curse followed and suddenly the Doctor saw himself circled by a group of very solid looking humans. “Whoa what the hell! You scared us!”. He recognized the girl he just had scared. The entire group was assembled out of teenage boys and girls, probably around eighteen in age. The girl’s brown eyes were wide and her brown hair standing out wildly. And with her, four more pair of eyes laid now on the Doctor. “Who are you even?”, she added and the Doctor straightened himself, forcing out a cheerful smile. “Hello! I am the Doctor. And I am looking for a friend. About this tall”, he held his hand in approximately Rose’s height, “Blonde, rather pink and probably scared. We were just-“. The girl stepped forward, her shock seemingly dissolved and eyed the ranting alien rather suspiciously. “Wait a second there. Who are you and what are you doing here?”. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, slowing his gob down. “I am the Doctor. And I am looking for a friend. Did you see someone here?”. There was muffled murmuring among the group. “And what are you doing here?”. That seemed like a sort of cue, since the girl put her hands on her hips and looked rather proud. “I’m Katharina. And we”, she gestured at the rest, “Are paranormal investigators.” She smiled but it turned rather sheepish. “At least aspiring.” _Oh boy_ , the Doctor thought. “You said you are looking for someone?”. The Doctor nodded. “Well we haven’t seen anyone round here. Not today that is. We were just doing an EVP session as you busted us.” The Time Lord couldn’t help but smile at that. He admired humanity’s craftiness. Contacting ghosts via electromagnetic waves? A genius idea but if they knew it was only a by-product of infra magnetic wavelength fluctuations… He beamed at them. “Lovely! Primitive but so simple! I love it!”. That earned him six bundled looks of suspicion and he cleared his throat, toning the enthusiasm down. “Uh, anyway. You said you are Ghost investigators? So you must be familiar with this place!”. Katharina nodded and a young boy stepped next to her, bright blue eyes fixing the Sonic, then the Doctor. His voice was quiet but surprisingly deep. “Yeah. This place shut down in the early thirties, right before the war. A hospital, with a psychic ward.” _Uh oh, that was always rather the explosive mix_ , the Doctor thought but kept silent. “People died in here. Mostly under shady circumstances. And just about a year back, local folks reported ghost sightings and activity in here.” 

Collective nodding and Katharina crossed her arms. The Doctor nodded as well, as pressing as it was, this situation intrigued him. “And did you get anything?”. “Plenty.”, Katharina replied. “Ghost pics, tons of EVPs and stuff being moved around. It is crazy.” The Doctor nodded again and stepped closer. “Would you mind if I could have a look on your stuff?”. That got the kids looking rather uneasily. Confused, the Doctor eyed them, patience running thin. “What’s the matter? It is actually, ah, rather urgent.” “Listen, we don’t know you. You kinda popped up here and that is not exactly trustworthy.” The Doctor already set on to argue but Katharina spoke first, not letting him start. “We just need to know you aren’t using us as cheap info supply.” The Doctor sighed inwardly, agitatedly ruffling his hair as he started pacing around. “I swear, cross my hearts. I am not interested in some ghost busters competition. I need help to find my friend.” A moment of silence passed and then she sighed and nodded. “Hang on.” She reached into a bag that hung under her arm to produce a tablet which she turned on. “Ok then, what do you want to look at?”. With new motivation, the Doctor beamed, snatched the tablet and busily started tapping on the device. “I need to see your most recent stuff. Pictures, audio files, magnetic readings. Anything.” With a confused groan she stepped by his side and soon the Doctor opened files together with her, reaching into his pocket, donning his brainy specs. He barely noticed the blue eyed boy speaking up. “Who are you even?”. The Doctor looked up and grinned. “I am the Doctor.” “That’s not an actual name. And what kind of Doctor?”. “Ohh of many sorts. You would be surprised of how many sorts you can be one. Quantum physics, extra-terrestrial relativity metaphysics. Even just a Doctor. But how rubbish would be that? Doctor Doctor.” The boy gaped at him and just shook his head, turning to whisper to his mate. “He is nuts.”  
“Ah, what is this?”, he asked, pointing at a file named “EVP Woman”. “Ah yeah we got that one earlier.” She pressed the play button and a rustling of white noise spilled out of the tiny speakers. “If you listen closely, it sounds like a woman crying.” A spike of alarm made the Doctor fumble for his sonic and he pointed the device at the tablet. He amplified the voice and played the file again. And what he heard made his blood run cold. “Doctor!”, the terribly familiar voice screamed. The group behind him gasped and stepped back. Katharina stared back at the Doctor. “Who the hell are you!?”.

*** 

Rose yelled, kicked and flailed and felt almost like suffocating under the ominous presence. She felt something rub across her face and she recoiled. Panic seized her and she fought back and finally broke free. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen but for now she needed to get out and far away from that. She jumped over the rotting debris and didn’t look back until she was outside, cold air making her shudder. She looked over her shoulder and she swore she saw a black figure standing at the entrance of the hospital, calling for her. But like hell she would go back. “Doctor!”, she called, heart racing. But silence. A bad feeling made her shudder and soon she knew why. No TARDIS. No blue box waiting for her. Only a flat rectangular shape where she had pushed the grass flat. “Oh no, don’t do this to me.”, she whispered and went towards the patch of grass, half hoping to touch the familiar wooden frame. She swallowed hard and nodded at herself. Right, this wasn’t the first time the Doctor and her got separated. She needed to stay calm. He would come back. She knew him. He wouldn’t leave her like that. She walked down the driveway, headed for the village. No point in staying here, in the middle of the forest together with whatever lurked in the building. Thankfully the hike wasn’t too long and she made a brisk pace. _Perks of being with the Doctor I guess._ Ever since the fateful meeting, ever since “Run”, she in fact ran a lot with the Doctor. And she wouldn’t miss a bit. Back home, she had been just a shop girl. No bright future, getting up, work, baked beans on toast and that was it. And now the situation had been everything but nice. But she had seen worse. And she made it. She had seen the stars; she had seen so much. All of time and space. Alien civilizations. Some passing just like humans, some looking like hateful space dustbins. A smile crept on her face as she saw the lights of the sleepy village. Right. She would do this and do everything to find the Doctor. Her Doctor. A rusty can lay by her feet and she kicked it idly. The Doctor was unlike anyone she ever met. All ears and leather jumper or now, long coat and unstoppable gob. And really great hair. He was so different. For a moment she believed he changed, more than just his face. It had been hard in the beginning, it was. But the more she run with this new new Doctor, she saw that her first Doctor wasn’t gone. And now she was more than accepting his new face. Whenever he looked at her, she wondered what was going on inside that big Time Lord brain. But since neither of them had made any advance so it just stayed at flirty bantering. 

Finally she arrived at the village. It was deep night, probably somewhere around midnight. But since it was frequented well by hikers, there had to be an inn or even hotel around. The streets however seemed to be deserted, only the occasional car speeding past her. She got somewhere, that looked like the village square. Houses were huddled around it and Rose let her gaze wander. And frowned. The lit signs weren’t translating for her. “Oh ‘s not good.”, she muttered. It meant she was out of the TARDIS’ reach. Her translation matrix wasn’t connected with her anymore. She was on her own. Slowly, the lonely feeling she had tried to suppress crept up to her and she took a deep breath. Still, starting sobbing like a little girl wouldn’t help her at all. Sooner or later she would find a place to stay. She wandered across the square and turned to a small alley. A sign hung over an iron gate and a rather cosy looking building behind. A reception or at least it looked like that. She read the sign again. The first words were unknown to her but it definitely read ‘hotel’. She sighed in relief and approached the gate. And frowned. A panel with a load of different buttons. Each assigned a number, some with a word above. Oh great. She crossed her hands and brooded over the buttons as she heard voices behind her. She turned around and sighed in relief to find a small group of women, chattering cheerily. “Excuse me?”, she addressed them and they turned. At least seeming to understand her. They strolled closer and a woman stepped forward. Rose looked at them sheepishly and pointed at the panel. “’M sorry! I am trying to find the nightcall but I just... . I-I am not that good with german, sorry. I don’t know which one to push.” Thankfully the ladies helped her out. And then something strange happened. Rose beamed at the helpful lot and turned. And walked right through the gate as if it was nothing but a trick. An illusion. As she realized what happened, she froze in spot. One of the women started screaming and Rose’s blood froze in her veins. 

_“It is useless.”_

Rose whirled around and started to scream. A foggy, black figure stood right in front of her, one hand outstretched as if grabbing her. “No!”, she screamed and stumbled back. “Back off!”. She dashed back. Something bumped against her leg, sending her flying to the ground. She wasn’t in front of the hotel anymore. She was at the hospital. And in front of her, the black figure hovered. _“You won’t get away.”_

*** 

The bleeping of a phone interrupted the awkward silence. It was one of the kids in the background, clearing his voice. “Uh guys, something’s up at the village.” The Doctor fixed him with a surprisingly intense stare. “What do you mean?”. The boy backed up a bit, slightly intimidated. “Uh…some sort of panic. Someone fell off the cliffs apparently.” That got the group gasping and shuffling around the boy, the Doctor forgotten at the moment. “But there was no body!”. That was all the Doctor needed to know. His coat billowed behind him as he ran out of the building, leaving the stupefied group behind him.

***

Rose sighed and strolled around the village. A cold breeze made he shudder. A whole day has passed and still no sign of the Doctor. She pulled her blue jumper closer around herself, allowing herself to enjoy the beautiful view. The village itself was built up along a small mountain. A road ran down from it like a serpent, coiling down until it reached the valley. And on the other side, the mountain broke off in a steep cliff, offering a stunning view of the forest that stretched wherever she looked. For all the alien beauty she had seen, good old earth had a few nice spots to offer as well. If she only wasn’t stranded here. She sighed and sat on a bench, propping her head on her hands, gazing across the ocean of trees. Hopefully he was alright. Her daft Alien. Always head first into some mad adventure, saving the day. But sometime, even the Doctor needed someone to save him. She should be at his side but now she was stuck. _Maybe I should ask Captain Jack for one of those Vortex Manipulators_ , she thought. As “rough and harsh”, as the Doctor titled it, it would surely help her out in situations like this. Rose hated this, damned to sit idly at a park bench. There was always a way, but right now that way wasn’t just revealing itself to her.  
“Excuse me?”. Rose looked up and turned in surprise at the voice behind her. “Um I saw you at the bar earlier.” Rose thought hard and remembered the young man who was there. They didn’t talk much but he seemed nice, helping her and the Doctor out. “Ah, don’t know if I introduced myself yet. I am Jan.” She smiled and shook his offered hand. “Nice to meet you, Jan.” She scooted to the side to let him sit down. “I was rather surprised to see you here. I thought you were travelling with the Doctor.” He frowned a bit. “That isn’t his real name, isn’t it? I mean, who just calls himself ‘The Doctor’?”. Rose smiled. “Long story, really. But did you see him? I am kinda looking for him.” That got Jan frowning for real. “Really? He left three days ago.” A cold feeling of shock made Rose gawk at him for several, silent moments. What? How could that… she lost the Doctor only half a day ago? “You alright? You look shocked.” Quickly she replaced her shocked look with a rather poor attempt of a smile. Something definitely had happened. Nothing good. A creeping sensation made her shutter and she thought what exactly happened as she and the Doctor got separated. Something ominous grasping her…and then? She was missing something. If that had happened three days ago then what had happened in between? “Yeah I am fine. We went uh…hiking. And got separated!”. A blunt lie but then she didn’t want anyone snooping in their business just yet. Not with some rampant alien on the loose.

“You don’t have his number?”. “I tried but it must have run out of battery.” She smiled and looked at the gently moving forest. “It is beautiful here, though.” What has happened in between? “Yeah but it is sure boring. I wanna move away.” Rose could understand. Beauty yeah sure, but other than that, this village seemed more than sleepy. “But speaking of moving, I hope you have somewhere to stay while you wait? Not wanting to sound creepy, but you look rather pale. You shouldn’t sit here in the breeze. Rose frowned and noticed that the trees hard started moving in a gust of wind. One she hadn’t felt. And if she thought about it… she had understood the young man! Her stomach coiled in fear and excitement and she couldn’t help but look around excitedly. It only meant one thing. The Doctor was back! He was back to get her! 

_You can’t run._

Rose gasped and gazed at the hovering black figure right behind Jan. “Oh no!”, she whispered and backed up, hands clasped in front of her mouth. She remembered. “What? Are you ok, Rose?”. Jan rose with her, looking plenty worried. “Behind you!”, Rose gasped as the figure hovered closer. The young man whirled around but didn’t seem to notice the menacing figure and looked back at her, puzzled. “Rose, calm down. What is happening.” 

_You can’t run._

It reached for her and that was it. Rose screamed and dashed forward. Her heart clenched in fear and the world started shifting around her. She only heard Jan’s shout dimmed down, as if he was talking through a cushion and Rose ran, towards the cliff and jumped. 

***

The Doctor arrived at the scene half an hour later. A young, familiar looking man was standing there, talking to the police, arms wrapped tightly around himself. He looked plenty scared, much in contrast to the rather calm looking authorities. A police car was parked a bit off the scene and he could hear barking from down the cliffs. He put his most charming smile on and strolled towards the two. “Hello there.”, he addressed them. The policewoman nodded at the man, then at the Doctor and walked past them towards the car. “Doctor!”, the shaking man exclaimed. “Hello, I know you. You were at the pub, weren’t you?”. He nodded and wiped his forehead. “Y-Yeah!”, he looked past the Doctor and down the cliff. “I…I can’t believe what just had happened. I-I and then…”, he started shaking again and swallowed hard. “Slowly! What happened here?”, he gently put his hands on the shaking man’s shoulders and guided him towards a bench and made him sit down. “Doctor, I saw Rose!”. The Doctor’s hearts sped up and he looked at the man intensely. “Rose? Are you absolutely sure?”. He nodded. “I saw her sitting here. Wondered she was here without you. I talked a bit and then she saw something.” All alarm bells were ringing in the Time Lord’s head and he nodded, urging him on with his tale. “She said there was something here. And then she panicked and then ran towards the cliffs. She….she fell! Oh god! I couldn’t do anything! She just ran and then…”. He stopped with a stifled sob. The Doctor ruffled his hair, mind already racing, tracing several possibilities at once. “They…didn’t find anyone.” The man shook his head. “No… it was like a ghost. Vanished like that.” Oh! Oh… “Brilliant!”, he suddenly exclaimed, making the shaken man jump. “Excuse me?”. “Ohh, that is brilliant! And I am so thick. Uh, listen…”. “Jan.”. “Right Jan, splendid name. Now, tell me did something happen here recently? Anything unusual. A meteor at night, an earthquake?”. The man looked properly flabbergasted but went to think. “Actually…. But I don’t understand? What on earth has it to do with Rose.” The Doctor was already backing up, eager to go. “Oh plenty. But you wouldn’t understand so leave it to me.” Rude and not ginger, eh? “So was there something?”. The man nodded. “Some kids said there was a meteorite going down somewhere in the forest. But no one found it or the crater so we just…carried on.” As the Doctor had guessed. He took Jan’s hands and shook them vigorously. “That’s brilliant! A ghost story with meteorites! Oh this will be good!”. He whirled away and jogged down the hill, heading straight for his TARDIS. If he suspected what it was being actually what he suspected what it was, then Rose wasn’t in immediate danger.

He dodged a few pedestrians, probably on their way home. It was already evening, the sun on her steady way down the horizon. The streets were quiet and the Doctor was deeply in thoughts. He had parked the TARDIS in a quiet alley. But as he just turned, he heard quick footsteps behind him. “Doctor! Doctor I am here!”. He whirled around, mouth opened as he saw Rose running towards him. His stomach clenched. It was obvious to him. The pale shades of her usually rosy face. Her slightly edgy walking. But the worst was, that she wasn’t aware of it. “Oh Rose”, he whispered and didn’t come closer. Rose stopped in front of him, looking slightly puzzled. “Oi, for someone sneaking off for three days this isn’t exactly the welcome I expected!”. He sighed. “Rose listen… I uh.. it is rather hard to explain.” She looked up at him, puzzled. “Now…you are worrying me. Doctor, what happened?”. He shook his head, locking gazes with her. “Listen. Can you tell me where you are? You aren’t here, Rose. Currently you are a projection.” Rose gaped at him, disbelief making her voice shake. “Doctor, what are you saying?”. She was looking rather scared and with heavy hearts, he reached out and right through her. She yelped and jumped back, patting herself. “But… I feel solid! Doctor, what happened to me?”. “Rose, listen to me. I will come and get you out. I think I know what I am dealing with. But I need your help.” She nodded, her eyes wide. But he could see the familiar fire burning in her eyes. The Rose he knew and loved. He swallowed hard. “Ok, try to concentrate. You might feel like being here. But you aren’t your body is tucked away somewhere. Concentrate. Feel your surroundings.” She nodded and closed her eyes, frowning with the effort. “I don’t think…”. The Doctor shook his head and lowered his voice to encourage her. “Keep your eyes closed. Concentrate. Try to focus your conscience in your arms for starters.” He dared a smile and Rose, her image, stood there in silence. “I feel cold, Doctor. I…I think I am on my back.” He stepped closer, his hearts swelling with pride. For a non-telepathic species like humans, Rose always seemed to excel. “Fantastic, keep going Rose. Tell me everything you feel.” She shuddered and nodded. “It’s dark. Can’t see. Doctor… I think…”. She gasped and her eyes flew open. The same moment the Doctor felt something behind him. He turned around and nodded as he saw a vague image in the air. Hard to distinguish but he saw it. And whatever it was, it was making Rose gasp in terror. “I demand to know who you are!”. He stepped forward, focusing his glare on the vague ghost like thing. “This human is under my very own protection.” The ghostly figure however ignored the Doctor. It stretched an arm out and Rose shook her head, her image paling. “Rose! Rose I will save you. I promise!”. He didn’t know if Rose heard him. The blonde turned and darted down the alley, vanishing inside a wall.


	3. Telepathy and Transdimensional Slides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight medicine talk. Needles involved so sliiight body horror there

Chapter 3

 

Finding out where that meteorite struck the forest hadn’t been hard. It took the Doctor only bit of frantic research and now he was pushing himself through dense undergrowth. Although Jan had claimed no one found a crater or any tangible trace, the Doctor knew better. Blueish light illuminated the path in front of him and he checked the readings once in a while. Any alien spacecraft was leaving residual energy behind and since it was at least a decade before humanity made frequent business with alien civilizations, it wasn’t hard to pick up the trace. The Sonic’s whirring got louder until it almost reached a frantic pace. And the Time Lord found himself in a small clearing. Above, the moon illuminated the place and he could hear quiet noises of the nightly life around him. So this was where the ship struck earth. And there was really no evidence anything came down. But then, disguising one’s arrival was one vital point of not being found in first place. And now, this bit of forest looked a bit too natural. Too perfect. The Doctor turned on spot until he found the trace leading away. “Ah ha!”, he exclaimed and followed the trail, the Sonic high in the air like a magic wand. And it didn’t surprise the Doctor that it led him to the abandoned hospital.

When the old building came into view, he couldn’t help but shudder. Something laid in the air like static electricity. Like a storm waiting to unfold. But somewhere in that storm was Rose. And that all the reason to poke that storm with a stick. The hallways echoed with his footsteps but otherwise it was utterly quiet. Like the air around him held his breath. The Sonic was picking up another trail, starting to whirr louder. Now with knowing what to look for, the Doctor was dead set on going on. He wouldn’t leave without Rose. But surprisingly the Sonic lead him to a dead end. The walls were sprayed with graffiti and debris covered the floor. But something was off. If the Doctor remembered right, the hallway was supposed to go on there. “Ohh! Clever. Quite clever!”. He squinted his eyes and it didn’t take long to work around the perception filter hiding the rest of the hallway. Plenty strong enough for a human, but not so quite for a Time Lord. He stepped right through the dissolving wall and from there it wasn’t hard to see where he had to go.

A black figure was calmly facing him at the end of the hallway. The Doctor pocketed his Sonic and waved. “Hello! Finally meeting you at home. Not quite face to face but well, can be worked with. But I see cosy homes aren’t your taste.” The figure didn’t reply first. But still, the Doctor was surprised to hear the surprisingly low voice resonating in his head. A place that was quiet most of the time. _I didn’t think you could dispel the filter._ “Ah yep, a man of surprises I am!”, he beamed at the figure and strolled closer. Y _ou aren’t terrestrial_. “Smart, aren’t we?”. The Doctor was now standing right in front of the figure. “I am usually up for bantering but I think you have something you really shouldn’t be having.” His voice dropped to a surprisingly low pitch. “I am going to take her back.” The figure shuddered and seemed to expand. Growing bigger, darker. More menacing. _I can’t give her back._ The Doctor sighed and stared up where the face would be. “I know who you are. Are your people still at war? Oh, big war. Going on for like what, twenty years now?”. Only silence followed as the creature thought but only again it shook its head, creeping closer. _You know but you don’t understand. I can’t give her back._ “I know a big deal trust me. And yeah I kinda don’t understand. Why? You are a noble and ancient race. Sophisticated, far evolved telepaths and empaths. So why? Why landing here on earth, playing the countryside ghost, kidnapping innocents? And why …this?”. He pointed at the form accusingly, staring right back challengingly. “Last time I checked you weren’t …. Big forms of black…stuff.” Admittedly, that ended rather lame but still, the Doctor was staring at the ghost. _You are compatible as well. Even better._ Uh oh, that didn’t sound good at all.

The Doctor swallowed hard and was just about to argue back as the ghost lunged forward. He managed to jump back in the very last moment, backing up. “Stop it. I know your kind is better than this.” This didn’t look good. He couldn’t immobilize something without a corporeal form easily and now it didn’t look like the ghost was letting him go. But then something behind the ghastly figure caught his attention for a second and he started smiling faintly. “Aw come on. Isnt that a bit unfair? Me against a ghost? I never was fond of brawling. Running fast pays of far better. But you know, sometimes even running fast can be sort of nice. Good for the heart. Hearts. And lungs and---“. He only ended his rant when the figure behind the ghost lunged. The black figure screeched in surprise and they went tumbling down. Yes, the Doctor could do nothing against a disembodied figure but an equally disembodied blonde girl… . Rose, her projection at least, jumped back. Her eyes were wide and she was shuddering. But seeing the black man on the ground like any other bloke boosted her confidence. “Rose! That is what I call timing!”. She looked at him and shook her head. “Doctor! I remember! Just behind him! There are stairs down the basement!”. He didn’t need to hear that twice. The figure was raising and pointed a finger at Rose. She suddenly started screaming and her figure dissolved into thin fog. Gritting his teeth, the Doctor tried to ignore how his hearts ached and his blood ran cold at the scream. He wouldn’t have her scream twice.

With new-found vigor and squeaking converse, he dashed past the figure. And there it is. A stairwell leading down. And that is where he would find Rose. A cold shudder ran down his spine and he started dashing down. He knew the ghost was in hot pursuit, since the Time Lord was directly heading towards its den. The stairwell, dark and dusty spiraled down until spilling into yet another hallway framed by battered doors. And eerie light was spilling on the hallway just at the very end of it. He came to a skidding halt, gasping at the sight. This room must have served as a morgue back then. The wall lined with metal stretchers. And in front of that four metal tables. And on the first one laid Rose. The Doctor dashed forward, quickly scanning her with his Sonic. She was breathing quietly, looking like sleeping. The base of her neck was reddened and to his surprise, there was something else at the last table. It was the ghost. Or rather, what was its true and very physical form. It was smaller than Rose, features smooth, almost too smooth. Graceful in built and humanoid. Only the bright blue eyes and black sclera together with an yellowish taint would set it apart with a human. One of the very few surviving Ealhea. But something was very off. Its light clothing was shredded, deep scratches and wounds running down its….his body. And he was almost as pale as Rose was. And the light came from behind the tables. A round spaceship, no bigger than a small car was lying there. No, an escape pod. Wires were coming out of it, leading into machines with something like antennas on top. Only one thin wire was connected with the Ealhea. And another with Rose.

The Doors booming close were making the Doctor jump around. “Oh I am so, so sorry!”, the Doctor started, lowering his Sonic. “I am so thick! Oh so thick! I didn’t realize you were hurt.” The Ghost stopped its advance for a moment, then materializing in front of its body. _I will protect myself at all costs. And I need her to survive._ “But don’t you see? You are draining her! Humans cant sustain you! They don’t have the capacities for it! You cant't use telepathic transreparation on a human!”. He quickly looked at Rose and then back at it. “I can help you! Your pod got damaged. I can fix that. Then it is only a tick away until you get help.” A moment of silence and then the ghost peered at the unconscious Rose. _She is different. She can sustain me. She can heal me._  “What?!”, the Doctor blurted. Could it be… . No one before had looked into the heart of the TARDIS like Rose did. And for a few, universe changing moments, Rose had been Time itself. Time in human form, wiping an entire fleet of Daleks out with a gesture of her hand. It had been killing her. Nothing was supposed to hold the vortex. And when he had taken it out, he was sure Rose had been saved. But then… maybe she got changed? _You are so selfish_ , he chastised himself. He had been all busy regenerating and ignored her. She who took him out of the terrifying emptiness that followed the war. And now he had to make sure he got Rose out of here without harm.

“It will take time.” He started anew, trying his best and putting all his charm in his voice. “You don’t want to sit ducks here, do you? Let’s make a deal. She is very, very dear to me. I get her back. And I help you get back to your friends. Undetected. I promise.” The Ghost remained silent and the Alien twitched on the table. “I can help you. Look!”. He took out his Sonic and let it whirr for a moment. The pod behind them lit up and the Ghost turned to look. “Please! You are not like this. Your entire species is known for their empathy. And trust me, it won’t take long until you get help.” _Very well._ The Ghost shifted closer. _First you repair my ship. Then you will get your friend. Unharmed._ A whole mountain fell from both his hearts and he nodded eagerly, jogging to the ship. _But first, tell me your name._ The Doctor stopped and looked back, first at the both unconscious bodies and then at the Ghost. “I am the Doctor. And I am here to save you both.”

***

He worked for hours straight, covered in wires, Sonic at hand and head stuck in the Alien pod. The Ghost, waited all the time in silence, and only spoke when the Doctor asked it questions. Exactly five hours, twenty seven and thirty three seconds had passed when the Time Lord pulled back and vigorously ruffled his hair. “Here we are then!”. He felt a shudder as the Ghost hovered closer and through him and into the pod. There was a high pitched bleep and then the Alien on the table opened its eyes. “You truly did it.”, he said with a deep and melodic voice that somehow didn’t fit to its small size. “Promised, didn’t I? Now she is good to go again!”. He patted the metal hull carefully and nodded. “Now to your side of the deal. I want my friend back.” The Ealhea nodded stiffly and there was a gasp coming from Rose. The Doctor already rushed to her side, kneeling down. He reached out and gently touched her forehead. She blinked, groggily and then a small smile crept on her face. “Hello.”, she breathed and the Doctor smiled. “Hello there.” The pod made another audible bleep and the Doctor nodded. “I will get her back to my ship. Then I will help you get back.” The Alien merely nodded and gracefully walked to his pod. Rose looked plenty confused and tried to crane her neck. A bolt of white hot pain shot through her and she hissed in pain. “Rose. For now don’t move around too much. I will get you to the TARDIS.” “Blimey I feel like having the worst hangover of my life!”, she groaned and stopped herself from nodding. The Doctor chuckled quietly and gently scooped her up and carried her up the stairs. “Hah, don’t let Jack hear that. I know he has had it worse.” They both laughed quietly and Rose propped her pounding head against the Doctors chest. Feeling his double heartbeat was oddly calming. “But what happened?”, she finally asked. “A whole lot. But all later. First I will run a thorough check up.” “So med bay before bed?”, she asked somewhat reluctantly. “I am afraid so.” “Oh shut it, you like check ups.” “Well….”.

***

“So tell me, Doctor. Will I live?”. Rose tried her best joking tone even though she felt pretty terrible. Her whole back was aching badly and something made her throat scratch unpleasantly. _Might have caught a cold down in that basement,_ she thought with an inwardly groan. The Doctor, sporting his specs, sat on a small stool and studied a monitor. It was filled with that pretty Gallifreyan writing. He sucked in a breath and turned towards her. “Yep.”, he replied finally, making the “p” pop in in mouth. “Doctor ‘s not funny!”. He looked vaguely guilty and finally looked at her. “You will be fine. But there is one thing.” Oh Rose knew that look on his face. It didn’t change that much, even through the two faces she knew of him. It meant that she is basically fine but with a nasty ‘but’. She braced herself and nodded bravely. “Ok, tell me then.” He scooted closer to her and cleared his throat. “There is one thing. That Ealhean did something to you. Something special to its species. It isn’t lethal but…uh uncomfortable if not treated right. Your back is probably rather sore, right?”. She nodded, trying to get what he was trying to tell her. “See, they are a highly advanced species. Empaths. Telepaths. Not restricted to touch like I am.” He wiggled his long fingers, causing Rose to smile. “They have a special protein and enzyme that enables their senses to read and generate their abilities. Mostly located in their spinal and brain fluid.” Rose swallowed hard. “Get to the point, please.” He blinked and nodded, looking at her reddened neck. “It can be injected. For some more, uh, direct communication. It is part of their bonding rituals. Between them is entirely harmless. But since you aren’t one of them, it might lead to complications.” He looked down. “I will remove those from you…. But it wont be pleasant.”

The shocked look on Roses face made him swallow hard. And ripped his hearts anew when she nodded bravely. “I trust you Doctor. And I am ready. Not keen on having alien stuff in my brain.” He smiled weakly. “Right, I will get to work in a mo. Do you want anything? I wouldn’t recommend eating something yet but…”. “A cuppa would be lovely. My throat is all sore.” He nodded eagerly, clapping his hands and rushed out of the med bay, his coat flapping behind him. But he came back just a moment later, took it off and put it under Rose’s head with a sorry smile to vanish in direction of the galley, leaving an equally apprehensive and surprised Rose back. She never saw him do this to his precious coat. And now it was comfortably tucked under her head. A sigh escaped her and she wasn’t sure how to interpret this gesture. But as always the Doctor didn’t leave her much time to ponder. She could hear the squeaking of his converse coming closer and then he entered the med bay cradling a steaming cup in his hands. Rose tried to sit up and squeaked as a sharp pain made her lay back quickly. “Don’t!”, he blurted and sat down beside her. “Take it easy Rose. Your back is sore from the injection and from laying down for a prolonged time.” He gently blew at the cup, then lifting it to her lips carefully. Her breath hitched and she stiffly leaned towards the cup, taking a careful sip. The tea was pleasantly warm and lessened the rough feeling in her throat. “That’s much better.”, she sighed and leaned back, feeling the warmth spread through her stiff limbs. “Rose.” She blinked and looked at him groggily. “Yeah Doctor?”. He shuffled closer, putting a hand on hers. “Just gonna tell you what will happen.” She nodded gratefully, and listened closely.

“I am going to break down the alien enzymes. An antidote if you will. Will take me a little while and then… yeah I am going to have to inject it.” He flinched, already looking apolitical. The coin dropped. “In my back?”. The Time Lord nodded and Rose put on a brave face. “Right. Good thing I never was scared of my flu shots, right?”. He smiled and for a moment he looked wildly nervous. But a bright grin replaced that in an instant. “Oh Rose. You are brilliant. And brave.” Rose smiled proudly. Travelling with the Doctor did that. She couldn’t count the times she and the Doctor had run from danger, stopped invasions or just offended some foreign alien culture. She had been afraid, yes. Often. But then the fear helped her so often and overcoming it was a high she never experienced before. Without the Doctor….where would she be? Still a shop assistant? Stuck in the estates? But now she was running about all of time and space. And it was amazing. The Doctor adjusted his glasses and nodded. “Alright then! No time to waste.” “Hang on.”, Rose interrupted. “You can do your magic here, right?”. The Doctor nodded. “Tell me what happened then. I can barely remember.” The next half an hour the Doctor spend giving her a detailed story how they were tore apart. How the Doctor tracked her down and the shock at her ghostly activities. How he found the site where the pod crashed and then went back to the hospital. Rose was quiet the whole time, sleepy eyes still alert and a cold shudder when his voice hitched slightly. When the Time Lord was done, she carefully reached out and held his arm.

“’M sorry Doctor.” But the Doctor looked at her sharply and shook his head. “No. It was my fault. I was so thick! I didn’t realize. But you? You were brilliant! How you used the projection to show yourself!”. He was swallowing the rest of his sentence back. How Rose shouldn’t be able to do that at all. He had to look onto that later and he felt a guilty twinge from the TARDIS for that. He pushed the presence away. He would worry Rose with any more of that without knowing what was going on with her. Rose gently squeezed his hand and he smiled at her. “See? And you think you are so impressive.” The Time Lord swallowed and a surprising hot shudder went down his spine. Yeah. Rose was pretty impressive. More than he would admit. “But… could ya tell me something?”, she shifted slightly and groaned. “I need a bit of distraction.” Little wheels squeaked as the Doctor pulled a chair from the desk and sat down, pulling down a screen to start his cure. “Tell you something?”, he repeated, shooting her a sideway glance. “Yeah. Some story. Time Lord Grimm stories or something like that. Your people had them, right?”. The Doctor chuckled quietly and adjusted the scanner with his Sonic. “Of course! Reading through them all would take you three years.” A quiet but amused groan from Rose. “Of course. Anything else then?”. The screen bleeped and the Doctor rose to scan her with his Sonic. “Hm…. Oh! Have I ever mentioned how I got lost for three days in Time Lord kindergarden?”. Rose couldn’t help but snort loudly. “Three days? What did you do?”. The whirring from the sonic came closer and he rested the glowing tip next to the injection wounds. “Transdimensional slides.” A moment of silence. “You are pulling my leg right?”. “Acutally nope, I am scanning your stem brain.” “Oh my god, Doctor!”. He laughed quietly and stopped the Sonic. “Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. But no, I mean it. Our kindergarden…uh was a tad bit more educational than yours. We had to program the slides for them to end right there. And yeah. I made an error. Three days later, I finally got out.” He smiled with a lopsided grin and sat down before the screen again. “Oh my. I feel bad for laughing.” She chuckled hoarsely with the image of a tiny version of this Doctor to stumble around in endless slides. “Don’t. Time Lords were terrible with fun. I was scared for an hour and then found an exit. It lead straight to the Gallifreyan mountains. I spend three days before I thought I should return. A little holiday.” “Wow yeah. I get what you mean. And I guess getting lost in a warehouse isn’t that impressive in comparison.” Now it was his turn to laugh and he shot her a brilliant smile. “I bet your mum was tearing the place upside down.” Rose groaned. “Yeah. She was so mad. But when she found me I was so happy. And she were too.” That was Jackie Tyler for him. A hard shell but a soft core. And a very hard slap. He pouted and started transferring data from his Sonic to the med station. “And I was so happy today as well.” The Doctor stopped typing in numbers in gallifreyan and looked over. His hearts seemed to skip a beat. “Y-Yeah?”. Rose wasn’t facing him, instead keeping her gaze to the ceiling. “I remember you. I remember feeling you reach right through me. I was so scared. And then this ghost chased me and…I just faded away sorta. I thought I wouldn’t wake up. Though I was happy I saw you before it.” The weight of her confession didn’t hit Rose until a few seconds later and when the Doctor was still silent.

A few silent second passed and a familiar cold dread filled her. “God, sorry. Listen I…”. But the Doctor finally looked at her, brown eyes dark with worry and emotion. “Don’t. Oh Rose… I was scared I lost you. But I wouldn’t have abandoned you. Never.” She swallowed hard. She remembered when he told her. The curse of being a Time Lord. To have to watch your loved ones wither away long before oneself. Always destined to lose them. “Doctor you didn’t do anything wrong. We couldn’t have known. Don’t you dare feel bad for this. You figured it out. And everything is fine.” She almost looked defiantly at him, slightly pouting in firm determination. “Rose..”. “No, no Rose. Listen to me. I joined you back then because I wanted. You showed me so much. I am so grateful for that. Besides I am no kid, even if I might look like one in next to you.” The Doctors throat grew dry and he looked away. “Doctor, I do this because I love it. I love running, one step away from the next adventure. I love travelling with you, alright?”. She swallowed hard and looked at him. It was remarkable how she managed to hit right in the bull’s eye. And it was remarkable how his hearts squeezed tightly at her words. All the walls he had built to keep pain away from him, from her, crumbled with laughable speed. He had to do something before he said something that he might regret. “Rose…”, he croaked. “I am….”. “Oh you daft alien. Just finish that cure, will you?”. She shot him a challenging smile and he gasped hard. “R-Right!”. He was secretly glad she nudged him to work. Clever thing. The next two hours they spend with innocent bantering while the Doctor worked. They laughed and joked until the Doctor pulled a vial with a bright pink liquid out of a wild assortment of glasses and pistons. “Here we are then.”, he announced. Pink. How fitting. Rose swallowed. “Alright then.” He nodded and went to a shelf to take a sterile packed syringe out. The needle long and properly menacing. But if Rose was to be completely alright he had to do this. He also got a spray can out. "External anaesthetic which would be developed on earth in fifty years plus minus ten. He went back to his desk and pierced the needle into the liquid, tapped it for any stray bubbles to come out. Finally, he turned to Rose. “You wont feel a thing. Got this!”, he presented her the can and pulled the chair next to her. “Uhm.” Rose watched him with a confused expression. “Uhm I need to get to your spine. So…”. She rolled her eyes and deftly took off her shirt. The Doctor gaped. “Doctor, you have seen me in my bikini. Just…just do this, alright?”. Oh what a git he was. Rose was obviously scared by the big syringe and he was staring at her like a teen boy. He shook his head and nodded. “Just relax.”, he murmured as he sprayed the spot. And gave it a quick pinch. Rose didn’t react instead looked down fiercely. Good the anesthetic worked.

“Alright. Just relax and don’t move. This will be over in a mo.” The tip of the syringe gleamed but the Doctors hand didn’t waver. He couldn’t. Direct injections were incredibly delicate matters. And this was his Rose after all. “I think we should pay Dyssia a visit. A lovely planet. It has two moons, one pink, the other a deep purple. Even the night sky is purple. Due to the composition of the atmosphere and the sun it is circling. Lovely! And a beautiful beach. One big ocean.” He kept on babbling quietly, hoping his gob would distract Rose. Because he already had pushed the syringe in deep. And was endlessly relieved Rose didn’t react with a sharp cry of pain. She didn’t reply but he could tell her she was listening. “Oh! And waterfalls! So many of them! Rushing down, in the right light looking like diamonds. A day at the beach, a hike to the falls. Would be something, right?”. He released the last of the antidote and then pulled it out. A slight film of sweat had formed on the Time Lords head. He wiped it with his sleeve and quickly put the syringe away. “And done. You can move, Rose.” She nodded and relaxed, awkwardly turning around. A second later the Doctors arms deftly picked her up, gentle as not to cause her any more pain. Rose gasped in surprise but didn’t protest. Which made his hearts speed up in a familiar rush. “Didn’t feel a thing.”, she commented quietly. “Hah, you doing an actual Doctor’s work.” She chuckled and the Doctor chimed in, carrying her down the corridor and towards the media room. Rose needed somewhere comfy to rest and something told him she wasn’t just about to go to sleep. He deftly kicked the door open and headed for the big couch. A moment later he had propped her down and tucked a blanket around her. And then there he stood, like the metaphorical lost lemon. Rose watched him with that intense gaze of hers. He often wondered how a young human lady like her could hold such wisdom in her gaze. She might not be aware of it. But the Doctor saw it every time she looked at him like this. She carefully patted the space next to her and he followed her command, curling up next to her.

“What’s the matter? You look like you….well you seen a ghost.” The Doctor cracked a grin but it dropped quickly. Instead he reached out and gently touched her cheek, eyes darting to check whether she was actually ok with it. “I am glad you are alright. And that you managed to contact me. The other villagers.” She smiled and looked away. “’s nothing. Had little choice, right?”. “No, Rose. That isn’t what I mean. You could do it. Reach out. Normally…humans shouldn’t be able to do it. But you did.” She inhaled sharply, looking at him. “What do you mean? Am I….?”. The Doctor quickly took her hands, gently squeezing them. Oh no, you are perfectly human. But… maybe it was because that incident. When you looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Closer to a Time Lord than to a human. You…managed that and some low level telepathy affinity stuck. Only few could do that. You are very special, Rose.” He was looking differently at her now. Rose once asked him if his people had any sort of religion. He had laughed and shook his head but reality looked a bit differently. Some looked at time with the utmost respect. As if it was a living entity. And if they saw Rose, flooded in golden light, seeing everything and beyond…like the goddess of time herself. The blonde was quiet for a while, until she sighed. “The way you say it. It is… hard to believe, you know? I mean, I was just a shop girl. No A levels and honestly, I am not that smart.” The Doctor tensed up and scooted closer, his brows furrowed in disbelief and Rose scolded herself for letting this slip of self doubt slip. “Do you really believe that? After all we have done?”. He didn’t raise his voice, neither did he sound angry. He was being honest. Rose swallowed, closing her eyes. “I… sometimes I look at you. Superior alien and everything.” She cracked a small smile but that vanished just as quickly as it came. “And I wonder why you bother. With us slow humans.” It was quiet for several heartbeats. Rose felt a chill run down her spine. “Hey, Rose. Please look at me.” She did. And the Time Lord had scooted right in front of her, his brown eyes soft and hands outstretched. Oh. “May I? I cant …need to show you.” A pause. “Please.” The blonde nodded and he gently placed the tips of his cool hands on her temple. In that instant she felt a vast, surprisingly warm presence hovering just around her mind. She was almost stumbling back, but he circled her temples soothingly. _Relax, I wont peek. Just allow me to show._ She sighed and suddenly colours and impressions were forming before her. It got dark around her and she stood in front of a massive, wavering pit. She felt taller and somehow off before she realized she was watching through the Doctors eyes. Her first Doctors. He was just about to be tossed in as she heard herself yell and swing past, kicking the aggressors away. A proud feeling washed through her, realizing it came from the Doctor. The scenery faded away and back into that underground collection. Intense emotions rushed past her, as she saw herself with the stranded Dalek. Talking reason to his white hot anger and showing that compassion of hers. More scenes moved past and by then, Rose was thoroughly flustered and tears glistened in her eyes. Then the scenes moved past with her current Doctor. Hands being held, weird ladies in the television, or them circling around a black hole. And always her standing up, fiercely defending those in need of it. Or helping terrified persons or aliens. And always leading the Doctor to the right path.

And then a rush of gold moved past and Rose instinctively reached out. The Doctor hesitated but ultimately let her see. Her old Doctor, a burst of golden light….and a kiss. She gasped and pulled away. “Don’t remember that part.”, she sniffed. Those particular last moments on the Gamestation were foggy and hazy. Like a distant dream. Filled with golden light and impossible thoughts pressing hard at her temples. “Don’t press it.”, the Doctor said softly. “You held the whole vortex in you.” Admiration laced his voice and he resisted the urge to caress her cheek. “You died because of me.” The Doctor shook his head. “Rose I was going to die anyway. Or kill half the human population. I couldn’t do that. And I don’t regret it at all.” Maybe he was a bit vain. He liked this incarnation. Young, fleet footed and Rose seemed to like it as well. “No need to dwell on that. For now focus on getting better. How about a few days of movies and couch? We could visit your mum after that. Or maybe a leisure trip? I promised you a few beaches after all. You even get to choose the colour! Pink, blue, red everything!”. Rose laughed and looked at him. She loved when he let his gob run wild. “Sounds great. But I could do with a bit of rest first.” He nodded eagerly and looked lost for a moment. “Rest! Yeah rest. Uhm.”, he stopped and looked away. “Wow. Didn’t know you knew the word rest.”, Rose teased. He huffed indignantly and scooted closer. “Of course I know it! I know it in over 3 billion languages.” They were close now and looking at each other. Roses heart thudded loudly and she hoped his stupid Time Lord ears couldn’t hear that. His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Would he bolt? He wasn’t the one to settle and she could understand. Bonding with someone having only the fracture of ones lifetime was bound to end in hurt. And she knew the Doctor had enough of that in his life. Even if he was cheerful and laughing or bantering about, his eyes couldn’t hide the truth. A moment passed and then Rose jumped as she felt arms slide around her. She looked down and saw the Doctors arms slid around her, pulling her close. He rested his head on her shoulder gently and there they were. Silent, and waiting. For something to happen. “Doctor…”, Rose started but he shushed her. “I know.”, he said simply and Rose let out a breath, leaning her head against his.

***

Twelve hours later, Rose stood at the TARDIS door. She was looking better already, having had a long kip and a proper meal. In front of her stood the elegant alien. Behind it, the ship hummed, ready to take off. “I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused to you.”, he said, doing an elaborate hand gesture. Rose blinked and the Doctor leaned in. “His people’s gesture for apology.” She nodded and looked back. “It is alright. You were in great distress.” She rubbed her neck and smiles softly. “I am glad the Doctor could repair your ship.” The alien blinked in surprise. And the Doctor felt his hearts swell. His Rose fierce but forgiving. Her compassion even forgiving three days of fear. “Next time you could tone down the ghost thingie though.” She chuckled and to her surprise, the alien did to, bowing down slightly. “I shall remember. Now I must return. May your lifetimes bring you insight of the seeing and unseeing. I wont forget your kindness.” The Doctor repeated the farewell and the alien turned around and vanished inside his ship. It shuddered and lifted off ground. It hovered there, stabilizing and then shot up, vanishing in the night sky. “So that’s it, then?”, Rose asked and closed the TARDIS doors. “Yep! Rose and the Doctor saved the day. I repaired his camouflage circuit and his friends will find him and patch him up properly.” He shot her a brilliant smile and offered her a hand which she took. She was still rather exhausted and didn’t mind that burst of gentleman attitude. The Time Rotor in front of them glowed idly but seemed somehow a tad bit brighter than usual. With his free hand, the Doctor turned a lever, sending them into the vortex. After a moment, Rose looked away from the surreal console, a smile making her lips curl. “So Doctor, what is our ne-“. She was silenced abruptly and stumbled back. Suddenly cool lips were pressed against hers and it took her a moment to realize it was the Doctor kissing her, one arm holding her stable. She could feel him tense up as she didn’t respond first but then she sighed and relaxed, leaning into the kiss as well. His relief was almost tangible and there they were. Standing in the soft glow of the console. She gasped softly and the Doctor made a sound of satisfaction, looking deliciously dishevelled as he pulled back. A new light was shining in his eyes and he took her hands.

“Everywhere.”


End file.
